Islanders Select Seven Players On Day Two Of 2011 NHL Entry Draft

Islanders Select Seven Players On Day Two Of 2011 NHL Entry Draftfalse

The New York Islanders selected seven players on the second day of the 2011 NHL Draft at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, MN.

Defenseman Scott Mayfield (34th overall) and forward Johan Sundstrom (50th overall) were each selected in the second round. Andrei Pedan (63rd overall) was then taken in the third round, defenseman Robbie Russo (95th overall) in the fourth, and forward John Persson (125th overall) and defenseman Brenden Kichton (127th overall) in the fifth round. The Islanders eighth and final pick of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft was seventh round selection Mitchell Theoret (127th overall).

Scott Mayfield was the Islanders' first selection on the second day of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft

Mayfield, the Islanders first pick in the second round, led all Youngstown defensemen in scoring last season with 16 points (seven goals, nine assists) in 52 games during his second year in the United States Hockey League. The 6’4, 200-pound defenseman from St. Louis, MO, will play at the University of Denver in the fall of 2011.

In his rookie USHL campaign, Mayfield scored 22 points (10 goals, 12 assists) in 59 games with Youngstown. On the international stage, he won a gold medal for the United States at the 2010 World Junior ‘A’ Challenge, where he was named tournament MVP and to the first all-star team.

Sundstrom, the Islanders second pick in the second round, played in 41 games as a rookie last season with Frolunda of the Swedish Elite League. The 6’2, 196-pound forward from Gothenburg, SWE, played for his country at the 2011 Under-20 World Junior Championships in Buffalo, NY.

Pedan, the Islanders’ third round pick from Kaunas, LTU, completed his rookie campaign in the Ontario Hockey League last season with Guelph. The 6’4, 201-pound defenseman recorded 12 points (two goals, 10 assists) in 51 regular season games and added eight assists in six games during the 2011 OHL Playoffs. Guelph selected Pedan in the first round (32nd overall) of the 2010 CHL Import Draft.

Russo, tabbed by the Islanders in the fourth round, has played for the United States development team of the USHL for the past two seasons, totaling 26 points (three goals, 23 assists) in 58 games. The Westomont, IL, native also played for the U.S. Under-18 team at the 2010 Ivan Hlinka Memorial tournament and helped lead Team USA to a gold medal at the 2010 World Under-17 Challenge. Russo, a 6’0, 189-pound defenseman, will attend the University of Notre Dame in the fall of 2011.

The Islanders selected a pair of Western Hockey League products in the fifth round of the draft, in Persson and Kichton. Persson, a native of Mora, SWE, led the Red Deer Rebels with 33 goals and ranked fourth on the team with 61 points during his second WHL season. The 6’2, 199-pound forward also recorded five points (two goals, three assists) in nine 2011 playoff games.

Kichton, a Spokane Chiefs defenseman from Spruce Grove, ALTA, scored 81 points (23 goals, 58 assists) in 64 games during his third season in the WHL to place third on the team in scoring and first amongst defensemen. The 5’10, 175-pound D-man added 11 points (one goal, 10 assists) in 17 playoff games.

Theoret, the Islanders’ final selection of the 2011 NHL Draft, is a seventh round pick from Montreal, PQ. In two OHL season with the Niagara IceDogs, the 6’1, 210-pound forward has totaled 28 points (11 goals, 17 assists) in 119 games.